Top Tourist Places To Visit in Eastern Cape

The landscape of the Eastern Cape ranges from pristine forest to arid desert, from scary sandstone cliffs to the preserved emerald green coastline. The Eastern Cape is a tourist's paradise that offers accommodation and tours to fit every budget and style. Scenic diversity is one of the most striking characteristics of this region which lures the tourists coming over here. The golden sand, the river mouths, rocks and rugged make it an ideal destination. The pristine coastline is a heaven for water sports enthusiasts. Sunshine all year round, fine leisure resorts and splendid facilities makes it a great outdoor.
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, as well as the eastern portion of the Cape Province. It is the birthplace of many well-known South Africans, such as Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Steve Biko etc.

Tourist Attractions - Best Places to Visit

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The Addo Elephant National Park, situated 73 Kms from Port Elizabeth is the major attraction here. This sanctuary is a home to 170 elephants, the last Cape buffalo and 21 black rhino. Other major places of interests are : -

Port Elizabeth : - Port Elizabeth is a leisure resort that beckons with an year around fun.

East London : - The city has lush green gardens, tennis, golf and squash court. You can enjoy the sport near Indian ocean.

Western Region : - Western Region is one of the liveliest coastlines in the world.

Reserves in the Eastern Cape are : - Addo Elephant Park, Emlanjeni Private Game Reserve, Kariega Game Lodge & Reserve, Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve, Mountain Zebra National Park and Kwande Private Game Reserve. These are great for animal lovers.

Country

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The Eastern Cape is in South Africa.

Population

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The total population is 6,906,200.

Currency

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Rand is the currency of South Africa.

Region

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It is the southern region of Africa.

Climate and Geography

Climate of Eastern Cape is highly varied. The west is dry with scarse rain during winter of summer, with frosty winters and hot summers. The Tsitsikamma to Grahamstown receives more precipitation, which is also relatively evenly distributed and temperatures are mild. Further east, rainfall becomes more plentiful and humidity increases, becoming more subtropical along the coast with summer rainfall. The interior can become very cold in winter, with heavy snowfalls occurring at times in the mountainous regions between Molteno and Rhodes. And if talking about the Geography it gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semi-arid Karoo, except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in the Tsitsikamma region. The coast is generally rugged with interspersed beaches. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous between Graaff-Reinet and Rhodes including the Sneeuberge (Afrikaans: Snow Mountains), Stormberge, Winterberge and Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Dragon Mountains). The highest point in the province is Ben Macdhui at 3001m. The east from East London towards the Kwa-Zulu Natal border is lush grassland with intermittent forest. This region, Transkei, is rolling hills punctuated by deep gorges.

Weather : Climate is highly varied in Eastern Cape. The west part of this town is dry as it receives very less rain. The interior part has very cold winters with heavy snowfalls occurring at times. In total it has hot summers and frosty winters.

Suitable Visiting Seasons ( months) : Summer months that is October to March is the best time to visit.

Transportation

Buses with luxury coaches at affordable prices are available for those who want to see the Eastern Cape. You can even hire vehicles from one of the many car rental companies. The caravan and motor are also available for sight seeing.